‘Campbell Has Lost A Giant’: Former Football Coach Dale Steele Dies

BUIES CREEK, N.C. — Dale Steele, the founding coach of Campbell University’s modern football program and one of the most influential figures in Camel athletics history, died Sunday following a courageous battle with cancer. He was 70.

For thousands of Campbell alumni, student-athletes and fans, Steele wasn’t simply the school’s first football coach in more than half a century. He was the man who brought the sport back to Buies Creek and laid the foundation for the program that exists today.

“Campbell has lost a giant,” Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore said. “Coach Steele’s impact on the lives of countless student-athletes, the members of our greater community and so many others is immeasurable. He built the Campbell football program from scratch, forever transforming the landscape of our campus. He poured everything he had into the people around him, especially his players.”

“Those that knew Coach Steele were fortunate to have him in their lives,” Bazemore continued. “Coach Steele was not only a great football coach, but a great man whose vision, unwavering drive and dedication will continue to inspire us every day. Our hearts and our prayers are with Mrs. Pam Steele and the entire Steele family.”

Steele was named Campbell’s first head football coach of the modern era on June 15, 2006, charged with rebuilding a program that had been dormant since 1950. From the ground up, he assembled a coaching staff, recruited the program’s first six NCAA Division I recruiting classes and helped establish a winning culture that continues nearly two decades later.

His teams produced 33 All-Pioneer Football League selections between 2008 and 2012 and 192 Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll members. Campbell also led the conference and ranked among the nation’s top 20 rushing teams for three consecutive seasons from 2009-11.

In 2011, Steele guided the Camels to one of the biggest milestones in the program’s return, winning five straight games and finishing 6-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play — the program’s first winning overall and conference records since football returned to campus.

Steele’s coaching career spanned more than 45 years.

A 1976 graduate of the University of South Carolina, where he played on both the offensive and defensive lines, Steele began coaching in 1977 as a graduate assistant at Ball State. His coaching journey included two stints at East Carolina, where he was part of four bowl teams, and later James Madison University, where he served as Director of Football Administration during the Dukes’ back-to-back NCAA FCS national championship seasons in 2016 and 2017.

Campbell honored Steele’s lasting impact in 2025 by inducting him into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame. Later that year, he received the prestigious Orange Tie Award after establishing the Steele Family Endowed Scholarship.

Even after retiring, Steele remained closely connected to the football program he built. He served as an advisor and team host for the Myrtle Beach Bowl while continuing to mentor Campbell coaches, student-athletes, administrators and alumni.

Current Campbell head football coach Braxton Harris said Steele’s influence extended far beyond wins and losses.

“Today is a hard day. We lost a great man in Campbell Hall of Famer Coach Dale Steele,” Harris said.

“Coach Steele was a visionary who poured his heart into Campbell University. He loved his family, he loved his players, and he loved this place. That passion showed in starting the program and the way he served others.”

Harris said Steele personally invested in his life and career.

“I’m incredibly thankful for the investment Coach Steele made in my life. He believed in me, encouraged me, and helped shape me—not just as a coach, but as a husband, father, and man. His influence is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”

He said Steele’s greatest legacy wasn’t measured by championships.

“Coach Steele’s legacy goes far beyond the field. He made people better. He cared deeply, led with integrity, and left Campbell better than he found it. He was a great coach, but an even better man. We are standing on his shoulders as we move this program that he loved forward, to fulfill his vision for Campbell Football.”

“I will miss him greatly.”

Harris closed by asking the Campbell community to keep Steele’s family in their thoughts.

“Please join me in praying for Pam and the entire Steele family. We love you, and we’re grieving with you while celebrating a life that made such a lasting difference.”

Steele was a 35-year member of the American Football Coaches Association, served as the Football Championship Subdivision representative on the NCAA Football Issues Committee and was a voting member of the FCS Coaches Poll and All-America selection committee.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Pam Steele; daughters Meghan Penny and husband Ben of Coats, and Kelsey Hearrell and husband Tony of Brigham City, Utah; granddaughters Emery Penny and Fenley Hearrell; his mother, Margaret Steele of Little River, South Carolina; brothers Kevin Steele and wife Linda of Edisto Island, South Carolina, and Jeffrey Steele of Auburn, Alabama; nephew Gordon Steele, his wife Melissa and their children of Birmingham, Alabama; niece Caroline Steele of Auburn, Alabama; and his beloved dogs, Chess and Finnegan.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, inside Butler Chapel on the Campbell University campus.